Pete J.

Mark just a thought on clear windscreens. I found out about thermoform plastic(AKA PETG) a while ago and experimented with it. It is available on the internet in various thicknesses and come in good sized sheets. Both MSC and McMaster Carr sell it in up to 4'X4' sheets. A 24" x 24" x 1/16" sheet runs about $12. One sheet will last a modeler a lifetime. First advantage is that it is much thinner and thus more "to scale" than the kit pieces. Second, you can leave the protective plastic on it and tape it to the original part and hit it with a heat gun to get the proper contour. The main disadvantage is that it is softer so it can scratch easier. Once that is done, it is much more flexible when fitting it to the frame. With the protective plastic in place you can handle it all you want to shape and fit it without worrying about scratching it. Once I have it just right then I do the Future thing to get a high gloss on it. To me it is much easier than trying to rework to old plastic parts. If you are down this way I have a fair amount of it and you could have enough for this project.

The quote I remember was the Phantom proved that a brick will go supersonic given enough power! Still wanted to fly one as a young second banana with wings of silver!

This would have been a bit scary to fly even without the odd aerodynamics. Pilot is sitting between two jet engines that didn't have a long life. Pilot didn't stand much of a chance if one of the engines granaded(and the did) and started throwing shrapnel. At the end of the war, the germans weren't to concerned about pilot safety.

I always enjoy seeing these early jets and the imaginative ways that they worked through airflow issues on the engines. My guess is that judging from the intake size for two engines, this thing was a pig to get airborne. Those are tiny inlets and the turbulence in the inlet had to be horrible. Still a very nice looking aircraft.

I've only done one resin model and used Westleys Blech white (yea that is the correct spelling) and had no issues. It was a very large casting, 14" wing span and 12" long fuselage, all one piece. Soaked it over night, too a toothbrush to it to get in the panel lines and then hit it with Tamiya white primer. Primer went down like a dream. Smooth and even, no fisheyes.

Walked out of my house about an hour ago and this was parked across the street. Nice restoration on a 70's Kombi!

That is up to you, but a bright blue like Tamiya TS-10 french blue would give you a light blue hue. The under coat doesn't matter as to its composition(Lacquer or enamel) because no matter what you lay down as a first coat, the second coat has to be Alsa base which is a clear waterborne urethane. Get a good glossy coat of that down and let it dry thoroughly before you spray the metalic. By thoroughly, I mean for me overnight in my food dehydrator. The Alsa base interacting with the metallic is what makes it durable. If you cheat and use something else the metallic will rub off. Don't skip that step or you won't be happy! By the way the base can also be used as a top coat if you need it for something like protecting decals but it isn't necessary.

Good idea!

Ahah, I missed that part!

Since I mentioned him in a prior story here is a piece on Bob Hoover, who I would rate as the best pilot of all time. He is 93 in this video and still able to pull of a precise barrel roll in a Saberliner. This was two years before he passed. The man was respected by all who ever took up aviation! https://www.avgeekery.com/legendary-test-pilot-bob-hoover-flies-over-edwards-in-a-saberliner/?fbclid=IwAR0O7ex7UWe7lToFPRfdWG2ZgT-cx51bLhkH8VP3dl7syJW0tWs7H2Sz2Xw

A properly done barrel roll is indeed a 1 g maneuver when done properly. However, the caveat it the "when done properly". I did more than my fair share in UPT with T-37s and T-38s and if you mess it up and dish out the back side you can wind up in an "Aw shoot" moment and pull quite a few g's recovering. Also, in aerobatics there can be significant load that do not show up on the g meter. Lateral loads are particularly onerous on large aircraft such as the Dash 80, 135 and 707 and I can believe the story of outboard engines departing the aircraft. I saw one that came off when an inexperienced pilot "hit the dip" in the runway at Anderson, but that is another story.

With one very notable exception ....

They just had one, I recall about a week ago. The easiest way to find out is to join the mail list at the bottom of this page. https://alsacorp.com/shop/contact-us They really don't bury you with emails. I would guess I get one every couple of months, but typically the hobby kits are on sale for only a couple of days so don't wait if you get notification. Of course you could get a few friends together and buy the pint kit. That brings the price down to about $50 an ounce.

Oh it's durable all right. If you look the photo of my P-51(above), I masked off the tail section to paint it blue. No damage from the masking tape! I have handled it quite a lot and you really have to rub it to get anything to come off. As mentioned before though, the color of your primer is very important to the final color as the metallic layer is very thin. Blue for chrome, white for polished aluminum, black for stainless. Also critical. You have to use their clear base coat before applying the metallic. Failure to do this makes it work just like alcad and it will rub off easily. There is some reaction between the metallic and the clear base that makes if far more durable.

I am well aware of past success of the 240Z especially the BRE versions. I bought a new one from a dealer in Sterling, Colorado in August of 1972 and took it to my first duty station in the Air Force. I was just surprised to see three of them at the top of the list with all the other makes that ran the rally.

Wow, I didn't know I started such a fuss! Just an FYI for those who are interested. The clear base coat can be thinned 50/50 with distilled water to get a thinner base coat. I got this from Alsa when I thought the base was too thick to blow through my fine airbrush. Oh, and the P-51 was my first large application. Not exactly perfect, but it was a gift for my grandson who is in love with the Mustang!

Wow, the top six included 3 240Z's. Did not expect that!

That's no hot rod! That is your daily driver. This is a hot rod. Your daily driver, modified in every conceivable fashion to make if faster. By the way, the fluid draining out of the bottom is most likely from the ice used to cool the engine.

Mark, a technical question for you. Knowing your machine working skills, would it not be easier to print the center and turn the outer rims front and rear and sandwich them together? Just a thought.

Oh god no! First off Tex had the best hands of any pilot I ever saw except maybe for Bob Hoover. Second the aircraft he did that in was the prototype AKA the Dash 80. Dimensionally is was smaller by a significant factor(12" narrower fuselage than the KC-135 and 16" narrower than the production 707). There were several unverified stories of crews that died when they tried and the centripetal force caused the outboard engines to depart the aircraft mid roll. Most extreme we ever did were steep turns with 60 degrees of bank which is a 2 g maneuver. I love the old saying, " There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" with the exception of the two mentioned prior.

Always love the Judge! My first competitive build that did well at competitions. Always got into discussions about the chrome rim trim rings. I left them off of mine also. They could be had as an option, but it was an extra and I think the Judge looked better without them. I also hacked one up to make a white version as a convertible. Very complex conversion because I had to completely reshape the rear quarter panels and truck lid, not to mention putting in the dog legs and narrowing the rear seat. Very nice build! Something you can be proud of. Keep it up.

You really have to pick your era. Pre WWII- The Bugatti P100. An aircraft not many know about WW II- Messerschmitt Me-262 Early Jet era- F-86 Saber especially if the aluminum is polished! Jet age airliner- Boeing 707 especially in Pan Am livery- Badass best design of all time Ox Cart- SR-71 Personal favorite- The predecessor of the 707 and the longest serving airframe currently in the Air force inventory 63 years and counting. On this last one, I admit to a personal bias! I have a little over 1,000 hours driving these beasts, but I still love the look especially in ghost gray.

Far better proportions that the F-35. Top profile is a thing of beauty!

Mark, I am so happy to see you demonstrate what goes into a top shelf model. It is not just about a perfect paint job. It's about correcting all the small issues that need to be right. I would think that less than 10% of modelers would consider tackling these corrections and the other 90% would thing you are nuts for this level of work. Glad to see you showing exactly what it takes.